"Should we go and join the Main Event?" I asked. Vic grinned and Cynthia nodded with a determined look on her face. I grinned at the two before turning around, picking up my new war hammer and leaning it against my shoulder. "Then let's go."

* * *

"Is it really okay for us to do all the fighting and get all the XP, Dex?" Cynthia asked.

"Y-yeah, I feel bad not l-letting you level up," Vic agreed.

"It's fine, especially since it was my idea. You both are just level 2 while I'm level 7," I reminded them. "By the way, what did you both do using the rewards from the boss raid?"

"Well, I ch-chose the [Skill (random)] option, and m-my Skill is now level 2," Vic replied. "Th-then, with the +10, I i-increased my Str stat."

"Very nice. What about you, Cynthia?" I asked.

"Well, I chose the [Stats (Player's choice)] option, which I used to increase my Con by +5, and then with the +10 as well," Cynthia answered. I nodded, agreeing that those were good choices.

"Now, like I was saying earlier, if we want to survive, we all need to at least be level 10," I told them. "Since I'm already level 7, I'll wait and just let you guys level up. Also, I believe we get to unlock our Innate Ability when we get to level 10, that's why level 10 is our goal."

"O-okay, that makes s-sense," Vic said with a nod. The three of us then entered the dungeon in front of us, which was called , so we knew what to expect. Or at least, we thought we did. But as soon as we entered, a trap was sprung.

A net dropped down from above us, while darts shot at us from both sides. Vic and Cynthia both raised their shields, deflecting the darts. The net still fell on top of us, but even though it was weighted, it was pretty easy for me to throw it aside. Now that those obstacles were out of the way, we started moving forward, but more cautiously since we never knew when a trap could be sprung.

[Master, I could take care of the traps for you.] Drauum said telepathically from inside his dimension.

Oh? How would you do that? I replied.

[My body takes less damage and I can reconstruct myself should I receive serious damage. I can walk ahead and set off traps before you all can get there.] He explained.

Okay, I'll agree that sounds like a good idea. We'll go ahead and do that, I thought. I then summoned Drauum from his dimension, where he started walking a few feet ahead of us. We had to move slower due to Drauum's low Dex, but that was okay since we had to be careful anyway.

As the small golem walked, several different traps were set off. However, just like he said, none of them really bothered him that much. At one point, he actually got a part of his left shoulder blown off, but due to his Skill, it repaired itself almost instantly.

"That's a neat trick," I commented.

[Thank you, Master. As long as I'm touching the ground, I'm nearly impossible to kill.] Drauum replied.

"Th-that's still a pretty cool a-ability," Vic said.

[Thank you as well, Victor.] The golem said. However, before anyone else could comment on the coolness of Drauum's Skill, we came to a fork in the tunnel.

"Which way should we go?" I asked.

"I think we should go to the left, because people always say go to the right, but that never seems to actually work in shows and things," Cynthia reasoned.

"I a-agree with Cynthia," Vic seconded.

"Alright, then to the left it is," I agreed. The four of us walked down the left path, but none of us noticed the opening behind us close, sealing us into the tunnel. However, what I did notice was the multiple presences hiding in openings in the tunnel walls. "Anyone else notice our friends in the walls?"

[I, too, spotted the goblins, Master.] Drauum replied.

"Wh-what're you talking about? I c-cant's sense anything," Vic said.

"Don't look, but there are shadowy figures hiding in the different openings in the tunnel walls," I explained. However, Vic disregarded my warning and looked towards the walls. He met the eyes of one of the hiding goblins and it shrieked at him in response. Suddenly, all of the goblins were charging out of their hiding places, leaping at us.

"Watch out!" Cynthia yelled, pushing Vic out of the way. The goblin slammed into her shield and fell to the ground. It growled and pounced again, its knife raised. I punched the small monster, its body popping like a balloon from the force of my blow. However, both the path forward and the both backward were blocked by angry goblins.

"S-sorry," Vic apologized. "I didn't think l-looking would cause all th-this."

"It's alright, man, just get ready for a fight," I told him. He nodded and drew his sword, but due to the weapon's length, the blade kept hitting the tunnel walls. One of the goblins snickered when it saw his troubles. "Put away the sword, it's no good in such a small space. Try using your shield instead."

"B-but my Skill costs MP t-to use and has a 5 m-minute cooldown," Vic explained, clearly sounding scared.

"You don't have to use , just smack them with your shield and keep them from hitting you. Cynthia, Drauum, and I can handle the rest," I reassured him. He seemed to calm down a little and nodded in understanding. The next time a goblin attacked him, Vic smashed it in the face with the face of his shield, then kicked it back towards the other goblins. It staggered to its feet and snarled, but didn't try to advance again.

[Allow me, Master.] Drauum said. He pointed his hands in both directions and fired bursts of stone shards towards both groups of goblins. They screamed and ran as they were cut down, but several of them still survived the initial onslaught. However, the survivors all ran back into their hiding places, retreating for now.

"Good work, Drauum. Did you level up from that?" I asked the golem.

[No, familiars such as myself require larger amounts of XP to level up than Players do.] He informed me.

"Ah, I see. Well, hopefully you'll level up again soon," I said with a shrug. We then continued our trek through the bowels of the dungeon. However, we didn't encounter any more goblins for the time being, but Drauum did walk into a few more traps. Luckily, same as before, they weren't really capable of damaging him.

Eventually, we passed by a solid-looking wooden door. After a discussion, we agreed to find out what was behind it, so I tried to kick the door in. However, some kind of energy field appeared right before my foot made contact, blasting me away. I slammed into the tunnel wall with quite a bit of force, but I was unharmed.

"Okay, let's try this! !" I shouted. Drauum had a golden light glow around him as I shared my stats with him. The earth golem seemed to understand my plan, because he charged at the door and slammed his shoulder into the energy field. Even though he was less than a third my height, he was actually much heavier than me. This, combined with his increased stats and incredible resilience, allowed him to resist being blown back.

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However, I watched as small chunks of rock were torn off across his body. Despite this, Drauum continued to push against the energy field. He eventually managed to tear through it, but he lost his entire right arm in the process. Luckily, same as before, the damaged sections of his body repaired themselves in an instant.

[The repulsion field is gone now, Master.] Drauum said.

"Y-yeah, good job. Thanks for doing that. Are you okay?" I asked.

[I am fine. And if you're concerned about me being in pain, I am incapable of feeling pain, so you do not have to be worried about something as trivial as that.] The golem reassured me.

"Got it. Well, again, thanks for doing that," I replied. Drauum then knocked the door off its hinges, revealing a well-lit room with three goblins dressed in black robes inside. They were standing in a circle around some object in the middle of the room.

[Ack! Humans! They'll ruin our ritual!] One of the goblins screamed.

"Whoah, there are monsters that can talk? That's new," Cynthia commented. However, I wasn't concerned about the monsters' ability to talk. Dashing into the room, Drauum and I both tried to punch a goblin each, but another force field repelled both of us. This time, even Drauum was blasted backwards. Neither of us were hurt by the force, but we recognized that it must be a strong force field.

Drauum raised his hands and the ground outside the force field surged upwards, creating two giant earthen hands. The hands pressed against the force field from both sides, trying to crush it. However, the hands broke apart like Drauum earlier, except they weren't able to withstand it and crumbled into dust.

"Let's see how you like this!" I shouted, raising my staff. "!"

A small, fiery orb shot out towards the force field. It struck the field and exploded, and this time, we saw the goblins shriek and fly backwards out of the radius of the field. Grinning, I dashed forward and killed one of the goblins before it had the chance to do anything. Drauum did the same, leaving just one goblin left.

However, this one managed to get to its feet and raised its hands. An invisible wall of force slammed into me, pinning me against the stone wall behind me. I struggled to get free, straining with all my strength, but I couldn't get free. Luckily, Drauum fired stone shards at the goblin sorcerer, killing it. The force wall disappeared, freeing me and allowing me to breath.

"Thanks, Drauum," I said.

[You're welcome, Master.] Drauum replied. He then turned to leave the room, but I decided to go ahead and check out the object in the middle of the room. It was an orb of some kind sitting on a stone pedestal. I went to pick it up, but as soon as I touched it, the orb flew into the palm of my hand. I screamed in agony as searing pain flooded through me, causing me to fall to my knees. Clutching my hand, I grit my teeth and bore the pain as best I could, but it continued to ravage my body for several minutes.

Once the pain had finally stopped, my clothes were soaked in sweat. I heaved for breath, trying to calm down. My heart still beat wildly in my chest, but even that was returning to normal. Looking down at my hand, I saw a small, round red object embedded in my palm. I tried to pry it out, but nothing I did worked. However, after a few more moments, a blue notice popped up in front of me.

[ has finished merging with Player Dexter Davenport]

[]

[Rank: Artifact]

[Type: Orb]

[Subtype: Buff]

[Effects:

1. x2 Soul

2. x2 SP

3. x2 SP recovery]

"Dang, those are some good effects, though I wish the merging process hadn't been so painful," I spat out while still heaving for air. Drauum came to my side and saw the object in my palm.

[That is a very powerful item, Master. However, it is still incomplete, but the only way to finish it would be for it to absorb souls. That's how are made, by using the souls of the dead. Most people do not create or use such an item due to its immoral creation and use.] Drauum explained.

"Great, I'm merged with an item that was created using the souls of the dead. And since it was made by goblins, they probably the souls of innocent humans they killed," I muttered.

[Master, there is no reason for you to feel guilty about using it. In fact, those people whose souls were use to make it would probably prefer for you to use it rather than the goblins.] Drauum rationalized.

"You're right, but you know what would make them feel even better? If I avenged them by killing every goblin in this dungeon and then razing the dungeon to the ground," I said with a snarl. Clenching my teeth, I stood up and left the room. I saw Vic and Cynthia both sitting on the floor, worried looks on their faces.

"A-are you alright, D-dex?" Vic asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I told him. "There was an item in there that merged itself with my hand, and the process was incredibly painful. That's all."

"Alright, but make sure to let us know if it starts hurting again or if you become not okay," Cynthia ordered. "Otherwise, Vic and I will beat you up."

"Sure, I understand," I said with a laugh. Vic and Cynthia then got up and started following after me as we continued exploring. However, only a few minutes later, we encountered yet another door. "Stand back."

I picked up small rock at my feet and flung it towards the door. However, it passed unimpeded and struck the door, splintering the wood. Since this one wasn't protected by magic, I just kicked the door in. This room was also well-lit, but there were no goblins inside. Instead, there was what looked like a metal statue. It's appearance was very similar to Drauum, except much larger. In fact, the statue was even taller than me, standing at around seven feet, its head touching the ceiling.

I began slowly walking towards the statue, but as soon as I got close, its eyes began glowing. It took a step forward, standing face-to-face with me. The golem then stood still again, just staring at me.

"What...is happening here?" I thought aloud. However, right after saying this, a blue notice popped up.

[Congratulations! You found the built by the ! If you can satisfy the right conditions, it'll be bound to you and become one of your familiars!]

"But what are the conditions? Convenient how the notices tell me only the basics for what I need to do," I muttered. I then looked back at the golem, which still hadn't moved. The golem then suddenly shifted, its arm lifting up. The golem then placed its hand over my right hand, where the was. Its eyes flashed and a notice popped up.

[Congratulations! You have satisfied the conditions! The has recognized you as its master and owner! It has now become bound to you as your familiar!]

[Please choose a name for your familiar!]

"Well, you're large and made of metal, so let's go with ," I decided. The golem's eyes flashed.

[You have named your new familiar ]

[]

[Description: built by a to be the ultimate enforcer for its chief, the golem has a multitude of weapons built into its heavily armored frame, on top of its prodigious physical strength. Due to its power, weaponry, and armor, it makes a good dealer or tanker for any party.]

[Species: Experimental Golem Prototype]

[Level: 1]

[Stats: HP (2200), MP (200), Str (320), End (475), Con (550), Dex (45), Int (1), Sen (25), and Arc (50)]

[Skills: Starting Skills: , , , , , , and ]

[Additional Skills: , , , , , , , and ]

"Holy cow, your stats are ridiculous!" I shouted. "I am really glad I was able to make you my familiar."

[Thank you.] It said in a robotic voice.

"Alright, well, come on, let's go," I told Iron Giant.

[Okay. Following.] Iron Giant replied. As I exited the room, the massive golem smashed through the wall, unable to fit through the doorway. Technically, I couldn't either and was ducking, but at least I wasn't smashing up the place just by leaving a room. Vic and Cynthia stared up at our newest companion and Drauum crossed his arms.

[And what are you supposed to be?] Drauum asked.

[Designation. Iron Giant.] The metal golem replied. [Owner. Dexter Davenport.]

[Hmm...] Was all Drauum said in response. He turned around and started leading us through the tunnel like before, but now Iron Giant went with him. They both set off traps and tanked the damage from them, nothing even scratching either of the golems.

After a while, the tunnel opened up into a large cavernous space. The space was filled with goblins wielding different weapons, other than one, which was sitting inside what could only be described as some kind of mech armor. It seemed to be in charge, as it pointed towards us and the other goblins all surged forward to attack.

"Vic, Cynthia, this all you guys. I'll assist if and when needed," I told them. They both nodded and stepped forward, ready to fight.